1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cutting tools and more particularly to a multi-blade cutting saw for cutting a block of concrete or aerated concrete into a plurality of equally sized slates with one pass through the cutting saw.
2. Description of the Related Art
Roofing tiles are commonly being made from concrete and particularly aerated concrete. Concrete and aerated concrete are usually produced in large blocks that need to be cut into slates or tiles. It is important to accurately cut the concrete so that each slate has equal dimensions. It is also important to be able to cut the concrete blocks without damaging the integrity of the concrete. Most concrete cutting saws provide a single blade. The single blade must make several passes over each concrete block to cut it into several slates. It is often difficult to cut slates with equal dimensions using a single blade cutting saw. The following patent documents disclose concrete cutting saws and cutting saw apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,969 discloses a tractor with a grooving unit for cutting parallel grooves into concrete pavement. The grooving unit contains a number of rotating saw blades. The tractor includes a shock absorber that prevents the saw blades from being damaged when contacting the pavement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,115 discloses a multiple rip saw for cutting wood. The rip saw apparatus includes a single arbor gang blade ripping saw, a top arbor and a means for controlling the disposition of the feed drive. The wood is fed through the rip saw on a conveyor that is driven by a motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,231 discloses an apparatus for trimming and scoring sod to produce separable plugs. The scoring apparatus produces a plurality of parallel cuts through the sod in one direction while trimming the ends of each section to a uniform length. The sod sections are turned ninety degrees and are conveyed through a second scoring apparatus that produces a plurality of parallel cuts in a second, perpendicular direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,139 discloses an apparatus for sub dividing hay bales. The machine cuts a block of hay into a plurality of smaller sections of hay. The machine has a conveyor that transports hay into a sawing section. The sawing section contains two sets of saw blades that are arranged transversely for making horizontal and vertical cuts through the hay bale. A second conveyor belt transports the cut pieces-into an outlet shoot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,215 discloses a dust removal apparatus for a concrete cutting saw. The dust removal apparatus contains a blade guard that partially covers the cutting blade and a pivotally mounted funnel on the blade guard. A vacuum machine is connected to an exhaust duct of the funnel so that concrete dust generated during cutting is exhausted away from the blades as the cuts are being made.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,526 discloses a running saw system. The system includes a carry conveyor with a plurality of rollers for transporting a slab of material to a cutting area. A cut saw then transversely cuts the front end of the slab a predetermined distance. The cut pieces of the slab are then carried away from the cutting area on a discharge conveyor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,621 discloses a machine for cutting corner lines in stones. The machine includes two pair of saw blades, which are disposed in opposite directions to one another. The saw blades are adjustable with respect to each other to accurately locate the-corners of the stone. Laser light sources are positioned to provide light beams on the stone at the precise location where the cuts are to be made.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,956 discloses a device for cutting any width of wood or other material. The machine includes a plurality of saw blades disposed on a drive shaft. Support bodies are provided on the drive shaft for each saw blade. The cutting blades may be displaced along the drive shaft so that displacement of the cutting width is possible without having to dismantle the saw blades.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a multi-blade concrete cutting saw solving the aforementioned problems is desired.